Blog by Becky Kenton-Lake, Coalition Manager, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland
On a freezing day in early January, members of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland gathered outside the Scottish Parliament armed with cameras, lights, clapperboards and directors’ chairs. We snapped photos, recorded film clips, and displayed banners and messages. So, what was the goal?

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland is Scotland’s climate coalition, bringing together over 70 organisations to campaign for action on climate change. We work with our members to build and demonstrate strong public support for climate action, and use this support to encourage decision-makers to implement effective climate policies.
2024 was a frustrating year for climate action in Scotland. It began with a damning verdict by the Scottish Government’s own advisors that a lack of action had made our critical 2030 climate target unachievable, leading the Scottish Parliament to scrap these targets. It ended with no sign of many of the promised policies that could have delivered real benefits – like legislation to make our homes warmer and cheaper to heat, and cleaner air and more accessible public transport.
This meant we wanted to start 2025 with a bang – taking strong messages to MSP’s on their very first day back at work. Through our creative and visual mock film set, we hoped to gain media coverage for our messages, and create powerful images and content to use in the new year.

With 2024 being the hottest year on record and 2025 starting with devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem. But we can’t afford to be climate doomers, and scaring people or focusing solely on the problems doesn’t motivate them to act.
This year there are significant opportunities for the Scottish Government to turn their priority to address the climate emergency into meaningful action, and in particular across the key sectors of heating, agriculture and transport. We will keep pushing for this, and the many benefits climate action will bring, giving people opportunities to add their voice to our calls for action, and finding creative ways to engage people. Our new campaign ‘Scotland United for Climate Action’ aims to do that.
People in Scotland are hugely concerned about the climate crisis and want governments to get on with addressing it. After all, this isn’t a dress rehearsal. It’s time for lights, camera, climate action.